Facts

Hats in the Tourney

They rode a roller-coaster ride of emotions along with more than 100 supporters all packed elbow to elbow in the bar area at Bill & Frank's Brickhouse Grill until finally seeing their school's name appear in the bottom half of the final bracket toward the end of the show.

And then the crowd let out a raucous cheer as ESPN revealed that the Hatters (24-8) received a No. 14 seed in the Oklahoma City Regional and will meet third-seeded UCLA (25-7) at 1:30 p.m. Saturday in Columbus, Ohio. The game will be televised on ESPN2.

“Honestly, I can't tell you what I was thinking,'' said Stetson senior Ashley Dennis, who is from Columbus. “My emotions went all over the place. The first thing I saw was the seed, and I said, ‘Wow, that's awesome.' And then I saw we're playing in Columbus, which just sent me over the edge, because that's my hometown.''

This will be the Hatters' third appearance in the NCAA tournament in eight years. But in 2005 and 2011 they were seeded 16th and paired against No. 1 seeds. This year many bracketologists predicted a 15 seed for the Atlantic Sun Conference tournament champs. A No. 14 seed caught everyone by surprise, including Hatters coach Lynn Bria.

“I'm shocked,'' Bria said. “I was pretty set we were going to be a 15 seed. You never know when the committee gets back there. I thought we could possibly be a 14, but I didn't really think we would get it. I'm just really happy.''

This was a season of many firsts for the Hatters. They set school records with 24 wins, 14 conference wins, an 11-game winning streak and a 16-game home winning streak that stretched back to last season.

“I'm really proud of where our program has come,'' Dennis said. “Two years ago we got a 16 seed. Getting a 14 seed shows a lot of respect for our program. And we really appreciate that.''

The players cheered boisterously every time a No. 1 seed was announced and their school wasn't named as the opponent. The loudest cheer -- until the final one -- came when Baylor was announced as the No. 1 seed of the Oklahoma City region and Prairie View was announced as the defending NCAA champ's opponent.

“Nobody wants to play her,'' Bria said of Baylor's 6-foot-8 center, Brittney Griner. “She's the best player in the country.''

Stetson players said they were getting anxious waiting to hear their team called as the one-hour selection show was winding down.

“It was worth the wait though,'' said senior guard Victoria McGowan, the A-Sun's 2011-12 player of the year.

<p><b>DELAND --</b> By the time the final pairings were announced on the NCAA women's tournament selection show Monday night, the Stetson Hatters were exhausted.</p><p> They rode a roller-coaster ride of emotions along with more than 100 supporters all packed elbow to elbow in the bar area at Bill & Frank's Brickhouse Grill until finally seeing their school's name appear in the bottom half of the final bracket toward the end of the show.</p><p> And then the crowd let out a raucous cheer as ESPN revealed that the Hatters (24-8) received a No. 14 seed in the Oklahoma City Regional and will meet third-seeded UCLA (25-7) at 1:30 p.m. Saturday in Columbus, Ohio. The game will be televised on ESPN2.</p><p> “Honestly, I can't tell you what I was thinking,'' said Stetson senior Ashley Dennis, who is from Columbus. “My emotions went all over the place. The first thing I saw was the seed, and I said, 'Wow, that's awesome.' And then I saw we're playing in Columbus, which just sent me over the edge, because that's my hometown.''</p><p> This will be the Hatters' third appearance in the NCAA tournament in eight years. But in 2005 and 2011 they were seeded 16th and paired against No. 1 seeds. This year many bracketologists predicted a 15 seed for the Atlantic Sun Conference tournament champs. A No. 14 seed caught everyone by surprise, including Hatters coach Lynn Bria.</p><p> “I'm shocked,'' Bria said. “I was pretty set we were going to be a 15 seed. You never know when the committee gets back there. I thought we could possibly be a 14, but I didn't really think we would get it. I'm just really happy.''</p><p> This was a season of many firsts for the Hatters. They set school records with 24 wins, 14 conference wins, an 11-game winning streak and a 16-game home winning streak that stretched back to last season.</p><p> “I'm really proud of where our program has come,'' Dennis said. “Two years ago we got a 16 seed. Getting a 14 seed shows a lot of respect for our program. And we really appreciate that.''</p><p> The players cheered boisterously every time a No. 1 seed was announced and their school wasn't named as the opponent. The loudest cheer -- until the final one -- came when Baylor was announced as the No. 1 seed of the Oklahoma City region and Prairie View was announced as the defending NCAA champ's opponent.</p><p> “Nobody wants to play her,'' Bria said of Baylor's 6-foot-8 center, Brittney Griner. “She's the best player in the country.''</p><p> Stetson players said they were getting anxious waiting to hear their team called as the one-hour selection show was winding down.</p><p>“It was worth the wait though,'' said senior guard Victoria McGowan, the A-Sun's 2011-12 player of the year.</p><p> “It definitely keeps you on the edge of your seat,'' junior forward Sasha Sims said.</p><p> But the result couldn't be more perfect, Bria said.</p><p> “We have players from Ohio, Indiana and Michigan,'' Bria said. “Victoria McGowan is from Michigan, and now her family can come watch her play, so it just worked out perfectly.''</p>